Marxism and Colonialism Theories in 'Pygmalion' & 'The Lion and The Jewel'

Contemporary drama is revolved around current problems or issues within society. It is relevant to the era that was composed in attempted to relate with the audiences. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and The Lion and The Jewel by Wole Soyinka are popular contemporary drama which was written in “world-changing forces that resulted disrupt in earlier conceptions of time, space, human psychology, and social order”. Therefore, the playwright wrote the drama to bring an important theory that needs to be told. 

What is “theory”? “A theory is a group of linked ideas intended to explain something”. A theory is an attempt to explain why and to provide understanding. A theory is not just any explanation, but it must be accepted by a wider community of people. It is also on how people understand and provide explanations arises from the cultural background and how people view the world. Thus, different playwrights will have different theories. 

The first theory is Marxism. “Marxism is an economic and social system based upon the political and economic theories of Karl Marx.” Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, and socialist revolutionary. He was the first social scientist that mainly focus on social class. Karl Marx’s work had an everlasting impact on sociology that his views had opened the door to the study of how one’s social class has a direct influence on one’s life experiences and life chances. Marxism is also known as “a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies.” The main ideas of Marxism are that the world is divided into classes where the richer capitalists exploit the workers and class conflict that resulted in socialism, workers' own means of production, and then communism, a stateless and classless society. People in the world are organized into different groups, or classes, based on what they do for work. Karl Marx meant that if one is in the upper class, life will be in leisure and abundance, meanwhile if one is in the lower class, life will be in hardship and poverty. According to Karl Marx, a class is a group of people who share common characteristics such as socioeconomic status, which is based on the income and living situation. The group who held the power will always maintain and grow the power by keeping those with no power to stay powerless. Marx argued that Western society had developed through four main periods of time, which are primitive communism, ancient society, feudal society, and capitalist society.

The second theory is Colonialism. It is a “practice of domination which involves the subjugation of one people to another.” Frantz Fanon, a West Indian psychoanalyst and social philosopher, was an early critic of the postcolonial governments, which failed to achieve freedom from colonial influences and establish a national consciousness among the newly liberated populace. “Colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin.” Fanon examines how the colonizer attributes colonialism and its attendant ideologies, and how colonized peoples, in turn, internalise the idea of their own inferiority and ultimately come to emulate their oppressors. This is called the power hierarchy of Self and Others. Colonialism often reshapes physical and social terrains and human identity violently, which effected psychologically on the consciousness and lives of the colonized subject. The colonized will reject his own native cultural identity while embracing the colonizer’s identity.

Frantz Fanon, through his writing Black Skin, White Masks, had analysed the psychology of colonialism. It is the representation of a Black Subject as a villainous where being black is wrong, black is inferior, and black is primitive.

These two theories have engulfed in the playwrights, which made them eager to incorporate it into their writing, which is Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and The Lion and The Jewel by Wole Soyinka. Pygmalion was written by George Bernard Shaw in 1912 explores the relationship between Professor Henry Higgins and Cockneyflower girl, Eliza Doolittle. Eliza insists to have a speech lesson from Higgins so she can actually improve herself and get a better job. At first, Higgins rejected the offer. However, Pickering got him to agree by covering the costs of the experiment if Higgins can pass Eliza off as a duchess at an ambassador's garden party. Therefore, the challenge is taken. After several months, Higgins succeeds in teaching Eliza to speak properly and changed her appearance. However, due to the changes, she had a problem to continue her life because a lady from upper class did not work. In the end, Eliza chooses to marry Freddy and leave the house.

How does Marxism contribute to Pygmalion? First, through the major theme, which is society and class. In Britain, people are most likely will judge through their social class; mannerism, appearance and accent. This social hierarchy is an unavoidable reality happened in Britain. Shaws include all the representative from the social class in his play, such as lower class is Eliza, the middle class is Doolittle, and the upper class is Higgins and Pickering. Shaws shows the reader the reality of social class and how people overcome it. He also shows us that society puts artificial barriers for the differentiation between the rich and the poor. But as the play progresses, each character's point of view about the classes is presented in a different situation, and social mobility is possible due to several reasons.

Second, through characters. The characters in this play can be characterized in three categories, which are: upper class are Higgins, Pickering, Mrs Higgins, and Freddy, the middle class, are Mrs.Pierce and the lower class, to which Eliza and Alfred Doolittle belong. It can be seen clearly the disparity between the wealth of different people in this play. Eliza and her father are seeking money, meanwhile Higgins and Pickering are using it for fun. Upper-class character, Higgins fits the Marxist stereotype of the greedy, manipulative bourgeois (upper class) who exploits the working class in order to fulfill his own needs. He does not care about other thought and feeling which is one of the upper-class behaviours. This similar to the bourgeois who will only use the worker to the extent they want, but in the end, they do not care what will happen to the workers. This will happen to Eliza when Higgins finally succeeds in the experiment, Eliza is not his concern anymore.

Through the character Eliza Doolittle, Shaws shows the reader that social mobility is possible where Eliza had belonged to the upper class after changing her appearance and the way she speaks. Eliza, who wanted to improve herself, had taken speech lesson from Higgins. This showed that social changes can be achieved through education. It is also impossible for upper class to befriend with lower-class which shown that Eliza had discriminated by the class not even by her gender or ethnicity. However, along the way she realizes that she traded in her independence for the mere satisfaction that she is in an upper class.

Third, through language. Language used as a device to separate the social class. As can be seen, Eliza has a cockney accent which made her belong to the lower class.

LIZA. Ah-ah-ah-ow-ow-oo! 

Meanwhile, Higgins speak proper and organized sentences made him belongs to the upper class.

HIGGINS [carried away] Yes: in six months—in three if she has a good ear and a quick tongue—I’ll take her anywhere and pass her off as anything. We’ll start today: now! this moment! Take her away and clean her, Mrs. Pearce. Monkey Brand, if it wont come off any other way. Is there a good fire in the kitchen?

From this play, it can be seen that Eliza used language in order to improve herself and have social mobility meanwhile Higgins used language in order to maintain his social class.

The Lion and The Jewel, by Wole Soyinka, is a play about a day in the life of three Yoruba villagers in Nigeria. Lakunle, is a young and arrogant schoolteacher who wanted to marry Sidi, the “jewel” of the village. He accepts Western ideas and modernity without really understanding them. He refuses to pay her bride-price too. Baroka, the elderly chief who wanted to marry Sidi too, sends his first wife to persuade her. After meeting Baroka, Sidi sobs that Sadiku was fooled, the Lion tricked her and was not impotent at all, so he raped Sidi and took her virginity. Finally, Sidi chooses to marry Baroka.

How did Colonialism contributes to The Lion and The Jewel? Through the major theme, which is traditional vs. modernity. The play shows the intimacy of Soyinka with the various aspects of African traditions. On the one hand, the play also shows the influence of the modern world on the African mind. It was clearly stated at the beginning of the play where Lakunle represents modernity through his appearance while Baroka represents traditional. Modernity can be seen in Lakunle by his appearance, his thinking of certain traditions in that village, and deny to pay the bride price for Sidi. “He is described as wearing a threadbare and rumpled clean English suit that is a little too small for him. He wears a tie that disappears beneath his waistcoat. His trousers are ridiculously oversized, and his shoes are Blanco-white”. This shown Lakunle has colonized mind where he accepted Western ideas and apply them to his life. The colonized character, Lakunle, fall in love with Sidi, the “jewel” of the village. He deeply admires Western culture and seeks to emulate. Lakunle represents the West: his clothing, his words, his learning, and his callous foolishness are all indicative of Britain's impact on Nigeria. He also wants the village to back away from the tradition. At the beginning of the play, when Lakunle wanted to help Sidi, carried the pail shown the “modern gentleman” who was trying to break the tradition of the woman's task. Lakunle also ask wanted to marry Sidi but refused to pay the bride price. This rejection is also one of the modernized ways. His choice for modernity leaves the door open for Baroka to enter. Even though Lakunle offered Sidi with a Western monogamous marriage, she rejected it because she wanted her bride price to be paid as it is in tradition. The bride price in African society is customary. It represents a woman’s chastity and her worth. However, like the modern world, Lakunle sees it as barbaric and inhumane. Baroka also displays as a strictly traditional character. There is no question that Baroka’s motive for turning progress away is to preserve his village in its traditional essence by against some of the development happened in his village.

Colonialism can be seen clearly through the dialogues used by the characters, especially Lakunle. The language used shown that he has been colonized by the Western. Lakunle loved to use big words and flowery language in order to impress Sidi and other villagers. However, Lakunle doesn't have a complete grasp of English, despite how much he loves and flaunts the language.

Lakunle: Ignorant girl, can you not understand? To pay the price would be. To buy a heifer off the market stall.

Lakunle: It's never any use. Bush-girl you are, bush-girl you'll always be. Uncivilized and primitive—bush-girl!

Lakunle: Voluptuous beast! He loves this life too well To bear to part from it. And motor roads And railways would do just that, forcing Civilization at his door.

In a nutshell, theory plays an important roles in order to deliver messages or issues through drama. Theory allows the playwright to explain what people see and to figure out how to bring about change. Theory is also used as a tool to enable playwright to identify a problem and to plan a means for altering the situation. Therefore, the different playwright will have different theory to be told through their drama.